1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a novel alkaloid compound which is useful as a chemotherapeutic agent for the remission of leukemia in animals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A number of leguminous plants belonging to the genus Sesbania have been traditionally used as livestock feeds. However, other members of this genus are notorious for the toxicity of their seeds. These species, including S. vesicaria, S. punicea, and S. drummondii, have been linked to the poisoning of the livestock and poultry in the Southern Coastal Plain of the United States [J. M. Kingsbury, Poisonous Plants of the United States and Canada (1964), pp. 353-357]. Efforts to identify the toxic principle in these species have led to isolation of a variety of saponins and sapogenins, no single one of which has been documented as being toxic. A sapotoxin isolated from S. drummondii (Daubentonia longifolia) has been reported as a contributing factor [A. Robey, "Isolation of the Toxin of Daubentonia longifolia," Thesis, Texas A&M Coll. (1925)].
In a search for chemical compounds which are chemotherapeutically active against leukemia systems, the three toxic species of Sesbania named above were screened by Powell et al. [Planta Medica 30(1): 1-8 (Aug. 1976)]. For each plant, an ethanolic seed extract tested positive against lymphocytic leukemia P388 (PS) in mice. Certain enriched fractions were obtained from the seed extract of S. vesicaria, but the responsible agent or agents were never isolated, identified, or obtained in a therapeutically acceptable form.